Gear Ratios Ratio of the numbers of teeth on mating gears. Tuning the gear ratios to the track is very important. A "short gear" will result in higher torque but a lower top speed whilst a "long gear" does the opposite. If revs are not reaching the maximum at the end of the main straight the gears can be shortened. On the otherhand, setting the intermediate gears aims to give the maximum torque out of the various corners on the track. See also Transmission. G-Force A physical force equivalent to one unit of gravity that is multiplied during rapid changes of direction or velocity. Drivers experience severe G-forces as they corner, accelerate and brake. More Part 1... and Part 2... G-Load Gravitational loads, expressed in multiples of the force of gravity acting on an object. In a car, these can be felt during acceleration, braking or cornering. Formula One drivers can experience loads of up to 5G. Gloves Like the racing overalls, these are made of Nomex®, a fire resistant material. The closefitting gloves with suede leather palms provide the necessary sensitivity for steering. Graining Graining is a particular type of tyre wear. It is prevalent at low temperatures and on low grip (dirty) track surfaces. It starts when very high side forces are exerted on the tyre, leading to high sliding. In this case small rolls of rubber move over the surface of the tyre on both the front and rear tyres. A characteristic of graining is understeer in the front tyres. Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) Association representing the interests of Formula 1 drivers. Gravel Trap A bed of gravel on the outside of corners designed with the aim of bringing cars that fall off the circuit to a safe halt. Green Flag  All clear. The driver has passed the potential danger point and prohibitions imposed by yellow flags have been lifted.Grid The formation of the cars at the start of the race as determined during qualifying. Each staggered row of two cars is separated by 16 metres (i.e. first to third position, etc.) Grid Penalty Demotion a given number of places down the starting grid i.e. if a driver qualifies 5th fastest and is awarded a 10-place grid penalty he will start in 15th place. Grip The magic word for Formula 1 drivers and engineers. It describes how well the car adheres to the ground and how this affects cornering speeds. High grip means high cornering speeds. Main factors of grip are the aerodynamics, the downforce created by the vehicle and the tyres’ properties. Without grip, a vehicle will begin to slide or skid. Ground Clearance The distance between the underbody and the surface of the track. Ground Effect The contact force generated by an aerodynamically shaped underbody. In the seventies, sills were attached to the sides of the cars to create a vacuum underneath the vehicle that held it down on the track. The enormous resulting grip allowed for extremely high cornering speeds. The pure ground effect cars developed in the seventies were banned by the FIA for safety reasons and now the main source of ground force is limited to the Diffuser. Gurney An L-shaped flap on the trailing edge of a car’s wing. Pioneered by Dan Gurney in the 1970's they increase down force with only a relatively small increase in drag coefficient when compared to increasing the angle of the wing.  |